Wire-stretcher clamp



J. B. STEELE WIRE s'rmn'cmm` om?.

Oct. 3 0, 1928.

Filed Jly 7, 1926 Patented Oct. 30, 1928.

UNITED STATES JOHN B. STEELE, 0E BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA.

WIRE-STRETCHER CLAMP.

Application filed. July 7,

This invention relates to wire stretchers and more particularly to a clamp by means ofwhich one end portion of a woven wire fence fabric or the end portions of a series of wires from which the fence is to be formed may be firmly gripped.

One object of the invention is to provide improved means for moving companion wireengaging bars into gripping engagement with fence wires disposed between the bars and firmly locking the wiregripping bars.

Another object of the invention is to so form the clamps, by means of which the bars are moved into a gripping position that when actuated to effect gripping of the wires the clamps will be prevented from accidentally slipping to a releasing position.

Another' object of the invention is to mount the actuating levers of the clamps in hous`- ings which are secured to one of the bars and so constructed that they may be readily taken apart if it is found necessary to clean or repair the mechanism of the clamp.

' This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a view in side elevation illustrating the improved clamp applied to wire fencing of a conventional formation;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the clamp taken on the line 2 2 of a fences.

Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a verticalsectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The clamp forming the subject-matter of this invention includes companion bars 1 and 2 which are preferably formed of wood, although they may be metal and are of a length corresponding to the customary height of woven wire fabric used when erecting The fence wire 3 to be stretched is gripped for its full height between the bars 1 and 2 and, therefore, it will be evenlyy In order to move the bars toward stretched. each other into firm gripping engagement with the wire fencing, there has been provided clamps which are indicated in general by the numeral 4 in Fig. 1 and illustrated in detail in Figsg2, 3 and 4. Two of the clamps have been employed but it will be understood that addtional clampsmay be provided if foundnecessary.

Each of the clamps is formed as shown in Figa. 25 B and 4, and referring to these figures 1926. Serial No. 120,998.

it will be seen that each includes a pin 5 which passes through alined openings 6 and 7 formed in the bars 1 and 2 with its head 8 engaging the outer face of the bar 1.v The portion of the pin which passes through the bar 1 is of greater diameter than its remaining portion and is threaded for engagement bythe securing nut 9. Tt will be readily understood that when the securing nut is tightened the portion of the baril between the nut and the head 8 will be firmly gripped and the pin will be held in engagement with the bar and prevented from turning. A recesslO is formed in the inner face of the bar 1 about the opening 6 and is of sufficient depth to entirely receive the nut 9. Therefore, the nut 9 is countersunlr in the bar 1 and cannot readily work loose upon the pin. This also prevents the nut from extending from the bar 1 and preventing the bar 2 from being moved into firm gripping engagement with the wire placed between the bars. The reduced portion of the pin extends well beyond the outer face of the bar 2 and has its free end portion formed with rack teeth 11 for engagement by actuating mechanism through the medium of which the bars are to be moved towards each `other and'held in gripping engagement with the fence wire.

The housing in which the actuating mechanism is mounted is secured to the outer face of the bar 2 about the opening 7 and is formed of separableside sections 12 and 13. These companion sections 12 and 13 are formed with base flanges 14 and 15 which are securedto the bar 2 by suitable fasteners, such as the screws 16, and at theirl upper ends are formed with flanges 17 and 18 releasably secured in contacting relation by the bolts 19. The main body of the housing is divided into an upper barrel 20 of a diameter to snugly receive the pin 5 and alower compartment or chamber 21 by webs 22 and 23 which eX- tend inwardly from the side sections, as shown in Fig. 4. These webs 22 and 23 are of less length than the barrel 20 and terminate in spaced relation to the bosses 24 and 25 through which the securing bolt 26 passes in order to provide a passage 27 as shown in Fig. 2. It should be further noted that the esY upper ends of the webs 23'are beveled, as

desired.

vide a slot 29 and at their lower ends the side sections are provided with contacting lugs and 51 through which are passed a securing bolt 32. By having the sections from which the housing is formed secured to each other by bolts and the housing secured to the bar 2 by screws or other removable fasteners, the housing may be readily removed from the bar and taken apart when necessary. Therefore, cleaning and repairing can be very easily accomplished.

The lever 33, by means of which the clamp is actuated, is in the form of an irregular curve and of a thickness to pass through the slot 29 and move freely in the slot. A head 3i is formed at the inner end of the lever and projects from opposite sides of the lever. this head is formed with an arcuate peripheral face which engages the washer 35, against which the outer end of the spring 256 bears and at the opposite si do of the head from the lever there has been foi-ined bearing ears 37, between which a pawl 238 is pivotally mounted upon a pin 39. This pawl is engaged by a leaf spring Al() anchored upon the bolt Q6 and is urged towards the barrel E20 so that it will be forced through the slot for engagement with the rack teeth ll.

When the clamp is in use, 'the levers 33 are swung outwardlyto the dotted line position of Fig. 2 and when so` swung the pawls are moved into the chambers 2l with their end portions engaging the inclined cam surfaces 28 and held out of engagement with the rack teeth. The bars may then be moved away from each other and entirely separated if so If separate strands of wire are to be stretched, the bars will only be separated a suliicient distance to permit the wires to be passed between the bars but if the fence is formed of woven fabric the bar 2 will be entirely separated from the bar l, and the wire placed in engagement with the inner face of the bar l and the bar 2 then replaced. The bar 2 rests upon the fence wires and when the levers are swung towards the position shown in Fig. 2, the pawls are moved through the slots 27 by their cooperating springs l0 and engage the rack teeth ll. The pawls will, therefore, act upon the pins 5 and when the levers are completely swung to the position shown in Fig. 2, the` bars 1 and 2 will have lirm gripping engagement with the fence wires. The head 3st is not only rotated in the chamber of the housing when the lever is `swung towards the position shown in Fig. 2,

but will also be slid bodily towards the bar a4 short distance and move the disk away from the abutment shoulders ll so that the spring 36 is compressed and pressure applied to prevent accidental movement of the lever towards the releasing position. Since it requires a rotary movement of the heads 34 in order to release the pins 5 from the pawls, the bars will be securely held :in the clamping position and there will be no danger of them accidentally slipping. After the fence wire has been firmly gripped between the bars oi the clamp, a stretching tackle, indicated in general by the numeral 42, is attached, as shown in Fig. l, and the fence wires may be stretched as tight as desired and lirmly nailed to the fence posts while stretched. rlfhe fence wires will, therefore, all be evenly stretched by a single stretching operation.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

l. wire clamp vcomprising companion sections, a pin rigidly carried by one section and passed through an opening in the other section to slidably connect the sections,` said pin being provided with longitudinally extending' rack teeth, a housing secured against the outer face of the second section and formed with a barrel slidably receiving said pin and chamber adjacent said barrel communicating therewith, said chamber having a slot forniied in its wall, a lever extending into said chamber through said slot, a head at the inner end of said lever formed with an arcuate peripheral face and rotated in the chamber' when the lever is moved, a pawl pivotally connected with said head,` a spring in said chamber engaging said pawl to move the pawl into engagement with the rack teeth of said pin when the head is rotated in one direc tion, and spring means in said chamber bear ing against said head to frictionally resist rotation thereof.

2. A wire clamp comprising companion sections, a pin rigidly carried by one section and passed through an opening in the other section to slidably connect the sections, said pin being provided with longitudinally extending rack teeth, a housing secured against the outer face of the second section and formed with a barrel slidably receiving said pin and a chamber adjacent said barrel communicating therewith, a lever extending into said chamber, a head at the inner end of said lever adapted to rotate in t-he chamber when the lever is moved, a pawl pivoted'to said head, and a spring in said chamber engaging said pawl to move the pawl into engagement with the rack teeth of said pin.

3. A wire clamp comprising companion sections, a pin extending from one section through an opening in the other section to slidably connect the sections, said pin being provided with longitudinally extending rack teeth, a housing carried by the second section and formed with a barrel alined with the opening of the section to slidably receive said pin and a chamber communicating with said barrel through one side thereof and having an outer wall formed with a longitudinally extending slot, a lever extending into said chamber through said slot,a head at the inner end of said `lever rotatable in said chamber, a pawl pivoted to said head, a spring lill) engaging said pawl to yieldably 'hold the pawl in position for engagement with said rack teeth, a disk in lsaid chamber, and a spring between said disk and one end of the chamber to retain said disk in engagement with said head and frictionally resist rotation of the head in the chamber.

Il. A wire clamp comprising companion sections, a pin extending from one section through an opening in the other section to slidably connect the sections, said pin being provided with longitudinally extending rack teeth, a housing carried by the second section and formed of separable side sections having inwardly extending webs contacting to form a partition dividing the housing into a barrel to receive said pin and a chamber, said partition terminating in an end edge spaced from one end of said chamber to form a passage between the barrel and chamber, a head rotatable in said chamber, a pawl pivoted to said head and yieldingly held in position for engaging said rack teeth, and means for rotating said head to move the pawl inwardly of the chamber to an inoperative position with the beveled edge of said partition holding the pawl out of engagement with the rack teeth.

5. A wire clamp comprising companion sections, a pin extending fromone section through an opening in the other section to slidably connect the sections, said pin being provided with longitudinally extending rack teeth, a housing carried by the second section and formed of separable side sections having inwarly extending webs contacting to form a partition dividing the housing into a barrel to receive said pin and a chamber, said partition terminating in an end edge spaced from one end of said chamber to form a passage between the barrel and chamber, fasteners to releasably hold said side sections assembled, one fastener passing through said chamber, a head rotatable in said chamber, a pawl pivoted to said head, a spring carried by said fastener and engaging said pawl to yieldably hold the pawl in position for engagement with said rack teeth, and means for rotating said head to move the pawl into and out of engagement with said rack teeth.

6. A wire clamp comprising companion sections, a pin extending from one section through an opening in the other section to slidably connect the sections, said pin being provided with longitudinally extending rack teeth, a housing carried by the second section and formed of separable side sections having inwardly extending webs contact-ing to form a partition dividing the housing into a barrel to receive said pin and a chamber, said partition terminating in an end edge spaced from one end of said chamber to form a passage between the barrel and chamber., and operating means movably mounted in said chamber and includng a pawl adapted to be moved through the passage into and out of engagement with said rack teeth according to the direction in which said Aoperating means is moved.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature JOHN B. sTEELE. [11.5.] 

